As I headed to work one morning, I saw the still full moon as it was setting in the west. It was becoming very dim in the pale blue of a morning sky not yet fully lit with the sun. I tried to take a picture of that sight but the photo could not adequately capture the waning light of the full orb.
In the opposite direction, the sun was brilliantly shining as it began to ascend in the horizon. As I tried to look for oncoming traffic in the direction of the sun, I could see nothing else because of the brightness. I had to block the sun with my hand, but still struggled to see. And what I could see seemed to be just images with no color.
The more I thought about those two contrasting sights, several things came to mind. I thought both the moon and the sun to be beautiful. I love seeing a full moon illuminating a night sky. But when I saw that same full moon very pale in comparison to the sun and the competing brightening of the morning sky, it caused a mixture of emotions.
As I tried to unsuccessfully capture that image of the moon, I thought about how we can never fully grasp the beauty of God’s love and provision. I thought about how impossible it is for us to hold onto things out of our control and reach. I thought about the brevity of life and how we should cherish the moments we have before they fade away.
But I also pondered several things about the sun as well. When we turn away from the things that we are trying to hold onto, and turn toward God, He will give us so much more that we could have imagined. When we gaze upon His glory, everything else pales in comparison. Even if we try to block Him out, He is still there. And if we try to look around Him, everything will be lacking in the same fullness of color compared to Christ.
God can teach us so much through just observing His creation. And when I think about the two lights He created, the one to govern the night and the one to govern the day, the greatest was The Light that was from the beginning.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. John 1:1-9 NKJV
Which light are you gazing upon the most – the moon, the sun or the one True Light?